The huge storm which battered the south of England also hit the Netherlands and parts of France, knocking down trees, flooding low areas and causing travel chaos.

Thousands of homes in north-western France lost electricity, while in the Netherlands several rail lines closed and airports suffered delays . Dutch citizens were warned against riding their bicycles because of the high winds, and Amsterdam's central railway station was shut by storm damage.

One woman was killed in Amsterdam when a tree fell on her.

The storm has hurricane-force gusts but is not classified as a one since it did not form over warm expanses of open ocean like those that batter the Caribbean and the eastern United States.

Sweden's Meteorological Institute upgraded its advisory , warning that a "class 3" storm that could pose "great danger to the public" as it hits western and southern Sweden.